(The Houston Chronicle published the following article by Bill Hensel Jr. on July 11.)
HOUSTON — The San Jacinto rail project may be on a fast track now that the Surface Transportation Board has turned back attempts by the city of Houston and others to slow it.
The board conducted a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the $85 million, 12.9-mile rail line and “reasonably concluded” that neither its construction or operation would result in significant environmental impact, the board said.
Opponents also were not able to show that the board failed to consider any of the relevant issues or that it used flawed methods in assessing the environmental impact, the board determined.
In May, after the board gave its approval for the project, the city, Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association and LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, filed legal challenges seeking a stay of its decision and asked for reconsideration.
Backers of the $85 million line — the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. and four Bayport-area chemical companies — say it is needed because the Union Pacific Railroad is currently the only railroad that serves the Bayport area.
“This is obviously good news for us,” said Henry de La Garza, a spokesman for the group. “We are very pleased, but we have got a few more hurdles to climb, and we are confident we will get there and be operating a line eventually.”
Those hurdles include the acquisition of some parcels of additional land, he said.
The second line, which would run from the Bayport Industrial District on the Houston Ship Channel to Clear Lake, would generate competition and allow chemical companies to reduce transportation costs, the consortium asserts.
U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, said he was disappointed with the latest development after he got notice of the board’s decision Thursday.
“Obviously, I disagree with them because of the concerns that I have,” Green said.
Green is pushing legislation that would require the board to give greater weight to public comments for projects in residential areas and to determine whether a project has a disproportionate effect on minorities.
LULAC also is disappointed in the latest outcome and will meet with its attorneys to determine what the next step will be, spokesman Johnny Mata said.
“It is definitely a big disappointment in light of the hardships and dangers imposed by all of the chemicals on these predominantly Hispanic communities,” Mata said.
Houston City Council adopted a resolution last year opposing the proposed route for the line.
Additionally, residents in the Clear Lake area and south Pasadena have complained about the rail line bringing more noise and pollution, along with the risk of hazardous materials being spread in their community.
The chemical companies involved in the project include Atofina Petrochemicals, Basell USA, Equistar Chemicals and Lyondell Chemical Co.
Burlington Northern won the right to build the line as part of the merger agreement between Southern Pacific Rail Corp. and Union Pacific in 1996.